Hillary and Lou Dobbs smile for the camera. Hillary represented the US and was vying for a slot at the World Equestrian Games and took her last Harvard final exam before competing in the Nations Cup class
Photo by Jessica Nemzoff/PMG

Catching up: The local TV stations in Wellington reported that Madonna bought George Banks’ home in the Mallet Hill development.  This property is wedged in between the Bloomberg property and Jessie Pasmore’s.  Since Madonna also bought the Kelly Klein property in the Hamptons, it might explain why Mark Bellissimo and Kelly were seen having lunch together recently.

Gigi Stetler, owner of RV Sales of Broward, recently prevailed in her protest against Equestrian Show Holdings LLC, over trespassing charges alleged to have occurred at the 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. Gigi and RV Sales of Broward have been a longtime sponsor at the Winter Equestrian Festival, and have had a standing sponsorship contract since 1992. In 2010, however, the Winter Equestrian Festival chose not to renew her sponsorship contract.

Northern Virginia was buzzing over the theft of three Orange County Hunt puppies, who were found in a nearby field a couple of days after they disappeared from the kennels. Luckily, all three puppies were tattooed and had very distinctive markings.  We hear some local teenagers found them, so kudos to the young folks!

Style points, no style points - you hunter derby folks best get it together.

This doesn’t happen very often (think once in a blue moon) but the crowd was on their feet at the Kentucky Spring Classic when there was a tie for first place during the $55,000 Rena Murphy Grand Prix. Todd Minikus was aboard Pavarotti and Cara Rather was riding Ublesco both crossed the finish line at 35.24 seconds during the jump-off. Looks like our WEG Long List is very well stacked!

Liliane Stranksy, the founder of the Step By Step Foundation, and her 14 year old daughter Daniela took time away from the show ring as guests on a different type of show - The Balancing Act - to raise awareness and talk about their efforts on behalf of Haiti.  After leaving the studio, Daniela added to the cause by donating her winnings from the Kentucky Horse Park that weekend.  The show airs nationally on July 13 on Lifetime at 7 AM.

Jennifer Ward was seen recently in Northern Ontario.  Now what do you suppose she was doing in that part of the world?

Gary Young celebrated his birthday with his wife Michaela. Believe it or not, there will be no horses from either their Camden Equine Rehabilitation and Conditioning Center OR the Roger Young Stables invited to the party!  Imagine, a birthday without horses!

And then there was Chubby’s birthday . . . Chubby the Horse celebrated his 21st birthday with  a beer at the local watering hole.  Chubby enjoyed his bucket of Killian’s Red and his special birthday cake.  Chubby and Chuckie have been together for 17 years, longer than any of the other 5,000 or so horses Chuckie has owned over the years!

Top hunter rider John French graciously served as a judge at the Miss Sacramento and Miss Northern Valley Beauty Pageant on May 21 at the Folsom Community Center in Northern California. Now that must have been a different kind of judging!

Going native?  Biggest news in La Baule, wasn’t the clean sweep the Americans made.  It was Missy Clark’s dog, Dandelion, who discovered crepes!  Check out Missy’s Facebook page for the details.

Chef D’Equipe George Morris complimented Hillary Dobbs on her ability and ambition, saying she “raised eyebrows when she won three classes during the FEI World Cup Finals while managing to fit in studying in between rounds.

Designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka and David Gochman, CEO of Academy Sports and Outdoors were among the 350 guests to bid “au revoir” to the 15 United States Nations Cup team show jumping riders at “The Road To Kentucky” dinner held at Elizabeth and James Miller’s place in Old Salem, NY.

Here, kitty kitty kitty! Melissa Brusie and her  daughters are breeding BENGAL cats.....although her husband Bob (surgeon at Palm Beach Equine Clinic) is not happy about it........the girls have cleaned up at the cat shows (every time Bob complains about the cats they just ask for ponies)!!

Harold Chopping couldn’t resist their new dog Molly, adopted from Danny and Ron’s SaveRStrays.  Check out the adorable Mutt of the Month, and you won’t be able to resist, either!

Congratulations to Taylor Blauweiss and Lee Hughes on their engagement. We all know Lee as the manager of the Grand Prix International tent.  Taylor just opened Taylor Made Cafe, a trendy lunch place on Southshore in Wellie-world.

Soooo, it is well known the Langers are a little different than most, and April 30 was their 10th anniversary. Larry gave Marnye a new remodeled and expanded game room in the basement of their home in Glendale,CA. Marnye’s present to Larry was equally bizarre; she surprised him in the main jumper ring at his spring Woodside show when a new Golden Gate Bridge jump showed up suddenly. OK, some people give jewelry, but as we said before, the Langers are different.

On another note, Larry Langer and Charlotte Skinner were greeted by six inches of snow for the start of their Colorado spring horse show. “We have held this show for the past 18 years on this date, and we have always missed the winter weather,” said Larry. The start of the show was delayed a little, since it could be snowing one day, and eighty degrees the next in Colorado. They were fine, since the Coloradans are a hardy bunch. In California, everyone would just go the movies.

There is nothing like a ride on a horse to make you feel better! At least not for Carol Brown, a former whipper-in, carriage driver, and now owner of the Dog & Pony Show antique shop. Despite being on dialysis treatments, she was able to mount up for a long healthy walk in Walpole, New Hampshire after 6 long years out of the saddle.

On the move: Bon Voyage, Amy Brubaker, popular amateur rider and everyone’s favorite catch rider from out west is off on a new adventure. We profiled Amy and her various successes in the hunter/eq rings last fall, and she checked in to tell us: “My husband, Scott, our baby girl, Beloved (Lhasa Apso) and I are moving to Hyderabad India for two years!  I was offered a great opportunity with my firm, Deloitte Tax LLP and just couldn’t turn it down.  I will travel back several times a year and hope to coordinate my US visits with various horse shows, the first being Capital Challenge.  While in India, I will be riding at the Hyderabad Polo and Riding Club learning cross-country and even polo”

Amy sends a huge thank you to all the people who have been so generous and kind to her over the years, and while she’ll miss all her two and four legged friends in California, she looks forward to picking up where she left off in two years. We wish her good luck!

News to share:  New baby, engagement, pickup truck?  On the move, having parties, falling off horses?  Share what’s happenin’ with your horse show friends by e-mailing us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Be sure to put “News for Ingate” in the subject line.

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